The Dragon's Stone
by The Gone Angel
Summary: Dan has a lot on his shoulders. The book weighs a million pounds in his backpack, during the quest he has to see Cobras, and worse (surprisingly), he and Amy might even die trying to stop an evil psycho Madrigal who wants world power. Also, returning the book to the Ekats, to create powerful animals that also might destroy the world. How fun! Co-author is CrushedShattered (Hiatus)
1. That Chest is Fake

**Disclaimer: We don't own 39 Clues.**

**_Now, It's me and CrushedShattered co-authoring a fanfiction. If you say, "This is awesome, GONE!" then I'll seriously go crazy. Because you had just forgot Shattered (yes, another nickname) So yeah...This is about Dan, and er, you'll just find out._**

**_Before Vespers Rising fanfic, and it's kinda AU later on._**

* * *

_**Written Chapter by Gone**_

It was a sunny day, the roses Amy planted days ago started to bloom, the birds chirping excitedly, flapping their long, feathery black wings. But where was everyone?

"Dan! Why were you snooping in my drawers?" yelled Amy. She walked down the halls of the mansion, opening each door till...

_POP!_

She ran down the hall towards the game room, slowly opening the door. She stepped into the chilly pitch black room, and flipped on the switch. Potato chips littered the freshly vacuumed carpet, boxers were scattered everywhere, and there was her dweeb of a brother, asleep on a frizzling soda can that looked like it was popped just a second ago.

_That's where the pop came from, _mused Amy. "DAN! I know you're awake!" she screamed in his ear. He moaned, stretching.

"What now, Mrs. Cobra?" snapped Dan. "I was beating my level till..." he looked at the paused screen. "Oh."

Amy whacked him upside the head. "Do something useful for once!" she snipped, irritated.

* * *

Dan groaned at his nerd of a sister. "Not fair, Amy-san," he grumbled. Amy smirked.

"Why don't you read a book?" she asked, a humoring twinkle in her eyes.

"Why don't you kill me and feed me to Isabel's sharks?" he retorted.

Amy shifted uncomfortably. Dan felt sorry he even said that, so he replied, "Sure. I'll find a book."

Amy's eyes brightened a bit, yet they held sadness and pain. "Yes, for once, I achieve victory!" she said, smiling, but biting her bottom lip nervously, like she expected Isabel to come out of nowhere and shoot her a hundred times with an AK47. That made him feel way worse.

"Look, Amy, I'm sorry," Dan muttered to his sister.

"For what?"

"You know, the shark comment," Dan replied. Amy flinched, recoiling back.

"It's not your fault, Dan," she murmured, eyes glazed. Dan sighed, walking out of his room with Amy following closely behind, but then she left towards the kitchen to probably check on Nellie so she didn't have her music cranked up to 100% volume and go deaf. He'd hate having to learn sign language just to talk to his crazy au pair. He did a high kick, shattering to what looked like a polished new mirror. He practiced a back flip, and did a high kick after that, along with a few punches.

Then he banged into a wooden ladder. "What is this?" he muttered to himself, "Aliens in the Attic?" He let out a small laugh, and slowly climbed the ladder. As he reached the floor, he started to sneeze. Dust was everywhere. But the real problem was, this mansion was new, so why was there dust? He realized he climbed down, instead of up. _So much for Aliens in the Attic, more like Monsters in the Basement, _he thought.

He breathed into his inhaler, and walked towards a glowing light. He noticed it was a chest. "Yes! I found the treasure!" he yelled, but shut his mouth, looking upwards. He hoped Amy hadn't heard him, because this was _his _treasure, not hers. He opened the chest, hoping to see piles of gold (not that they needed it) or a glowing mummy, but instead he found a...book?!

"This must be rigged," he grumbled, scowling angrily. He picked up the book, and tossed it aside. "Amy must have tricked me." The thought made him more mad. He grabbed the book again, flipping into the first page.

_Whoever has this journal, I give my best regards too. I failed my quest, but you shall not. This page has the Dragon's Stone in it._

Dan looked where the arrow pointed. It wasn't there, it was just a empty space that looked in the shape of a rock.

_The Ekats guarded this with their lives, till those stupid scum of Lucians stole the stone. I think it is hidden within the Castle of Snake, who holds a beautiful young woman, Queen Jerri. She will lead you to meet her brat of a daughter, Princess Lucia, who holds the stone as a necklace, a token of honor to fight to keep the Lucians thriving._

Dan was in deep thought. Was it too late to start? He remembered this was _his _treasure, not others. He had to go by himself.

_If you get the stone, place it in the book. Go meet Agent Tom, a Ekat-Janus guard who will give you the key to the Bear Dungeon, that holds the second clue to fulfill the prophecy. There will be five different Tomas's you will have to battle. Pharaoh Smitten, a hard-core fighter girl, her name standing for king. Falcon Smitten, a used to be soldier who lives for murder._

Dan gulped nervously. This sounded like the clue hunt all over again.

_Agent Maple, a ghost girl haunting the place for revenge for her death. Agent Jeff, brother of Maple, who died in a explosion. Last is Lassie Robin, a alive guard. Used to be Janus, but a tough Tomas. At Maple, you can stop._

Dan let out a choking sigh of relieve.

_Because she has what you are looking for. Her spirit. She was a Lucian, invading the Tomas Dungeon. She died with her brother in the explosion the Tomas created to destroy them all. It did. You have to capture her spirit, and lock it inside a jar. It holds Fury Poison, and once you open that jar again, she is free. She'll give you a charm like is filled with red, a scarlet poison. Buy a charm bracelet, and hook it on._

Dan was shocked. Buy a charm bracelet? He was a guy!

_Wear it. Keep it safe. Go through the dungeon again, and meet up with Lassie. She's actually on your side. She'll give you a charm, draining her Janus energy into the wolf charm. Lock it into your bracelet, and go to London, England, where you will meet up with the Kabra family._

"NO!" yelled Dan. "My worst nightmare!"

_In your time, I think it's Ian and Natalie Kabra you'll be meeting. They know where the Wolf's Prison Gates are, and so you will find them. You'll defeat Daffer, a werewolf Janus to into the prison. You'll see criminals, but don't worry. There is one you need to see the most. Olly Pines, a Tomas man locked in prison. He holds a bear charm, filled with strength. You'll add it with your other charms._

Dan sighed. That's it. He'd have to take Amy with him to suffer through the Cobras.

_But you have to defeat him also._

Dan groaned. "What's next?"

_You'll talk to Wolf, a sly angel who will give you a concoction of a liquid that you will use later on with the Madrigals._

Dan paled. He was a Madrigal.

_A evil Madrigal that is bent on destroying the world._

"Not very Madrigal like," Dan murmured.

_Her name is Nightmare, no, her real name is Allie James. She is called Nightmare. You will defeat her, earning a high title among the Cahills. She has a charm, filled with cunning Vesper souls. Let the Vespers free, and you die. Keep them in their charm. The souls are Dannie and Beech, both guys trapped in the black charm. Once you finished that, put the charms in the second page. Go back to the Ekats and give it to them. Then a dragon, wolf, bear, and snake will be created, all equally dangerous._

Dan flipped to the second page. Another blank space, but words filled below. Then it suddenly stopped, like the person writing this died or something. He saw the animals part. _Dangerous animals...haha, DANgerous, _he thought.

**THE PROPHECY OF WILD**

**WARNING: YOU HAVE SEEN AS MUCH AS YOU SHOULD. DON'T GO ON UNLESS YOU ARE COMPLETING THE MISSION. IF YOU ARE, READ CAREFULLY.**

_Madrigal, _

_Lucian,_

_both will combine to stop the unfolding danger,_

_poison,_

_peace,_

_you'll need it all,_

_to defeat the evil one,_

_to defeat the wild ones,_

_to defeat everything in its path,_

_that's what it does,_

_a snake,_

_a bear,_

_a wolf,_

_a dragon,_

_will all make things bad,_

_the world might stop spinning,_

_the land might drown,_

_there is no hope to be found._

_~Honey Jason_

* * *

Dan stared at the words, nervously inhaling through his inhaler. He closed the book, creeping out of the basement.

"Dan!" cried Amy. "Where have you been, it's been thirty-why are you covered with dust?"

"I've been reading."

Amy stared at him, wondering if he was buffing. "Really?"

"Yes. Amy, I need your help."

* * *

"But there is no basement, Dan!"

"I fell into it," he said, glaring. "Help me. I don't want to do the quest with the Cobras!"

"It might be fake," suggested Amy.

"And I thought it was a guy writing it," he uttered.

Amy had her hands on her hips. "Dan..." she growled.

"I'm going!" protested Dan.

"It's dangerous, like a whole other clue hunt, but you have to kill people!" Amy almost screamed.

"So?" he retorted angrily. "I'm going, it's my quest."

Amy breathed a sigh, replying, "Then I'm coming."

Dan smiled. There was his sister that he liked.

"But you are dead if I die," warned Amy, walking away.

Dan grinned.


	2. It's Magic, You Know!

**Disclaimer: We don't own 39 Clues.**

* * *

_**Written Chapter by CrushedShattered**_

Dan and Amy's bags were already packed with everything they thought they'd need on the trip: clothes, money, Dan's video games, Amy's books, and all the other equipment they assumed would come in handy during the Quest.

They were ready, except for two things.

One: they hadn't decided on whether they should tell Nellie and uncle Fiske about the Quest or not. Not telling them and going secretly was not an option since Nellie and uncle Fiske would go crazy worrying about them. Trying to explain to them face to face was even more impossible. Uncle Fiske would probably send a whole squad of Cahills to go and complete the Quest.

That did sound like a good thing to Amy. Then she and Dan would get to stay home and not loose their lives or something while trying to save the world and killing other people. But the idea of traveling around like during the Clue hunt was really tempting. School did seem somewhat boring compared to the Clue hunt.

Of course she hadn't told her dweeb of a brother about all her worries yet.

Dan hadn't really thought about (or even realized) this problem yet and instead he was worrying about which spy gadgets he was to bring and the variety of snacks in their luggage.

Two: they didn't know where they were supposed to go. The book didn't tell them about that and they'd been so busy packing and getting ready that they hadn't actually thought about what their first destination would be.

Amy had read Honey Jason's letter and poem for about a hundred times by now and despite her amazing comprehension skills she still couldn't fully understand them. It did seem that the Quest would be take a long time, though.

"Dan?" She called out quietly to her brother, who was attempting to cram another bag of chips into his already bulging backpack.

It took Dan a while to realize she was calling him and he certainly didn't understand Amy's worries about how to inform Nellie and uncle Fiske about the Quest.

"Why don't you write a letter to them explaining the situation in your beautiful handwriting?" He asked exasperated just after Amy had finished telling him. "They'll understand."

Amy nodded, "That's a good idea. I hope they'll understand, though."

After using fifteen minutes to discuss on what to write Amy carefully wrote the letter out with a purple pen on a sheet of notebook paper:

_Dear uncle Fiske and Nellie,_

_We're going on a mission. It has to do with the Cahills. Please don't worry for us. We're really sorry that we couldn't say goodbye to you. This is really important and we have to go. It might take some time for us to come back but please don't worry! We'll be fine._

_Amy and Dan_

"How's this?" Amy asked as she held up the letter for Dan to see. She would've made it longer but she felt tense and wanted to go on quickly. Then she remembered the other problem they had.

"Dan…" She began before his attention could be divided again, "Do you know where we're supposed to be heading to?"

Dan shrugged, "How could I know?"

Amy groaned. Of course Dan wouldn't have thought of such matters.

"We have to know _that_, don't we, dweeb?"

Dan, it seemed, finally realized the importance of this.

"Let's ask the book."

"How?"

"It's magic! When I turned to the second page the words weren't there at first, then they appeared like someone was writing it!"

Amy paled. "It sounds sort of like…Tom Riddle's Diary."

"I didn't know that you read those books!"

"That's not the point!" Amy snapped, "Do you think that there's some evil person using this book as a tool to lure us into a trap?"

Dan groaned. That was not the Amy that he really liked.

"Come on, Amy! This'll be fun!"

Amy bit her lower lip nervously. "It does sound like fun, but what if we encounter Isabel?"

Dan sighed, "She's in jail, remember? We have to do this quest!"

Amy nodded. "So we'll try writing in the book and see if it answers. What if we get…possessed?"

"I'll do it, then," Dan said as he snatched a pen from the table and opened the book.

The letter and the poem were still there and Dan turned to the third page.

It was blank.

Dan carefully placed the tip of the pen on the page, and wrote:

_My sister and I have decided to go to complete the quest. Where should we go first?_

Dan lifted the pen away from the paper. "I hope this works."

Nothing appeared on the page.

Two minutes passed and still nothing happened.

"The person might be sleeping or something." Dan suggested nervously as he stared hard at the page as if trying to spot any small change. He'd finally realized that without a destination there was no way they could begin the Quest.

"Face it, Dan," Amy sighed. "This won't work. This is just a joke or something. There's no such thing as magic, anyways. Let's unpack."

Dan was about to protest when an ink spot suddenly appeared on the page.

Slowly and steadily words began to appear in Honey Jason's handwriting on the page. After about fifteen seconds the place Amy and Dan were to go to was revealed.

Amy and Dan both stared at the sentence for some time before realizing what it meant.

"Oh, no," Amy said ―at the same time that Dan said, "Awesome!"

"_Don't you that my heart is breaking too!" _Nellie Gomez sang/screamed along with the song that was currently playing as she prepared dinner for them in the mansion's kitchen.

She hadn't seen Amy and Dan much today, but that didn't bother her.

They had their own things to do.

She thought that she heard Dan yell "Awesome!" when her I-pod switched songs._ Probably yelling about a ninja game,_ she thought, unconcerned.

Amy and Dan were planning on how to get out of the mansion without Nellie or uncle Fiske knowing.

After half an hour of arguments they finally figured out a plan.

They went to dinner and acted as normal as could be and managed to stuff a normal amount of food into their churning stomachs.

Uncle Fiske, as it turned out, had gone on some Cahill business today so after Amy and Dan had said goodnight to Nellie they turned off the lights of heir bedrooms and pretended to be asleep.

Amy stared at her digital alarm clock. Their plan was simple, but a lot of things could go wrong.

She looked around her room. Her two bookcases were stacked with books, and she'd only chosen a few of her favorites to accompany her on the Quest. Her room seemed such a great place.

She didn't know if she'd ever be able to come back again.

Dan was thinking, too.

But he was thinking about how much he would miss his video games.

The plan sounded exciting, but also slightly hard and risky.

Since his room was nearer to Nellie's his main job now was to spy on Nellie to see if she was asleep and then alert Amy.

He waited and waited as he played a video game for Nellie's room's lights to be turned off. But what if Nellie chatted on really late into the night with her boyfriend on line or something?

After about two hours Nellie's room became completely silent. Dan crept to listen at her door and heard nothing.

He pulled out his phone to tell Amy.

Amy jumped as her phone began buzzing. It had been two hours since the lights of her room had been turned off and she'd begun to doze off.

A message appeared on the screen:

_Coast clear. Let's go._

She opened her window.

Using a long and sturdy rope she first tied her backpack to one end and slowly lowered it down from her window onto the lawn. She was glad now that there weren't any rose bushes beneath her window.

After she was sure than it had reached the ground safely she secured the end she was holding to a strong branch on the tree she was to climb down from.

Using another rope she repeated the process with her duffel bag. She knew that Dan was doing the same now.

Then came the harder part of the plan.

She gulped as she peered down from her second-floor window. She didn't want to fall from the tree and mess this up.

Using the ropes as protection and handholds she carefully climbed out the window and descended from the tree, then let out a sigh of relief as her feet touched the ground.

Dan was already done and hurried over to help Amy take the ropes down from the tree.

They both looked at the front of the mansion one last time and walked away.

They didn't know if they'd ever be able to come back again.


	3. Stupid Red Eyes and Dan

**Disclaimer: We Don't Own 39 Clues. I Love Caps So Much.**

* * *

**Chapter Written by Gone**

Dan continued walking on the sidewalk, muttering stuff like, "Continue down St. Robert, and turn right."

Amy rolled her eyes. What was Dan thinking? Did he think he could become a GPS even though he didn't even know where he was going? As they turned the corner, a huge teenage boy leaned against the wall, smoking.

Amy wrinkled her nose in disgust, and walked a bit faster. The boy followed them, and finally, Dan turned around and glared at the boy.

"Why are you following us?" asked Dan with narrowed eyes.

"Running away with your girlfriend?" sneered the boy. Dan silently gagged. He was never going to let that go.

"Dan, let's go," murmured Amy.

"Where's the Castle of Snake?" asked Dan, still standing still.

The boy frowned, thinking. "The Castle of Snake...are you playing a joke? This isn't a fairytale."

"TELL ME!" yelled Dan, yelling for a random reason. Then he calmed, saying, "Where is _it?"_

"Fine, little dude. Castle of Snake is in Ireland. It's a hidden place. Why are you asking?"

"We're going there," muttered Amy. The boy raised an eyebrow, holding out a hand.

"Sorry for the hostile approach, my name is Zeke Cahill. I'm supposed to meet two teenagers going to Castle of Snake. Apparently, that is you," explained Zeke.

"What if we don't believe you?" snarled Dan, still angry for calling him 'little dude.' "Honey Jason never told us about you!"

Zeke snorted. "Honey Jason is dead. She never got past...never mind."

"Past who?" asked Amy, her eyes darting around nervously, while she played with her hair.

"Ummm..." stammered Zeke, "It'll effect the quest. I shouldn't say..."

"Who is it?" Dan said, standing on his toes to be the height of the boy.

_"Stop, Zeke," _murmured a thick voice, _"You'll ruin the future. Shut up, or I'll break your neck."  
_

"It...it was-" his jaw suddenly snapped. He fell to the ground, and his eyes rolled in the back of his head. Then his neck snapped, and blood trickled down his mouth. Dan stared in horror at the sight. They didn't do it...and nobody was here.

_"Yes, Daniel, nobody was here," _the voice replied, mesmerizing him, squeezing the life out of him.

"I totally agree, yeah. I do," said Dan, drooling.

_"Stupid humans and their pitiful sentences. Say the sentence correctly or I'll snap your neck too."_

Somehow, the threat was still sweet. Amy shook her brother violently. "DAN! EARTH TO DWEEB!" she shouted in his ear.

"Ugghh, I'm hungry," whined Dan.

_"Bye, my lovely idiotic pawn," _said the voice. The Voice (Dan's nickname for it) disappeared.

"What happens now, Dan? Zeke died. How are we going to get to Ireland knowing where Castle of Snake is?" asked Amy, worry shining in her jade irises.

Dan grinned at her. "Amy-san, we use the internet."

* * *

"Dang it," muttered Dan, "it's not on the internet."

"Well duh, dweeb. Zeke said it was hidden. Anyways, I found a map there in his pockets," replied Amy.

"That would have been nice to know before," Dan said crossly, but then his eyes brightened a bit. "Wait, does that mean we can try the food in Ireland?"

Amy sighed. How was she going to cope with her brother on his silly quest?

"We have to eat to live," persuaded Dan. Amy gave him a light smack on the arm.

"Not right now. Right now, we'll board an airplane to Ireland, and search for another guard at the Castle of Snake," ordered Amy, "then we'll eat."

Dan rolled his eyes. This was his quest! She was his traveling...helper. "Come on, please! I want a Big Mac before we leave," muttered Dan, then realizing Amy was already walking away from him.

"I said 'please!'" exclaimed Dan, and realizing she was ignoring him._ Pain in the butt,_ he thought, _what would I do without her?_

* * *

Dan was officially starving when he saw a little girl eating cookies on the airplane. "Amy!" he complained, "are you _trying _to starve me?"

"I'm hungry too, Dan, but I'm not whining like you," pointed out Amy. Then she sighed. "Ah, I'll never get over the beautiful view from the sky. How the birds fly beside us, and the fluffy clouds look like they're creating a shield!"

"Like on Mountain Everest?" asked Dan, ignoring Amy's short summarized sentences about the clouds and stuff.

Amy shook her head. "No dying involved."

"What if a bullet hits the airplane?"

"It will fly back off, Dan."

"What if a bomb is in the cookies?"

"Dan, there's no bombs."

"Did you check her cookies? And the loos?"

Amy rolled her eyes. It was just like Dan to pretend to be _British _on the way to _Ireland. _It made no sense, but that's her brother as she remembered.

"Dan, I'm sure. The clue hunt is over," she replied carefully, because she knew danger always came to them.

"But danger comes to us like a magnetic force...maybe like those weird things in Star Wars where-" blah blah blah, was what Amy heard as she felt the boredom appear next to her. She laid her head on a pillow she brought, and fell asleep listening to Dan babble on about Pokemon and Star Wars, an epic battle.

* * *

Dan and Amy dragged their luggage off the airplane, their eyelids growing heavier. That little girl woke them up at four AM sharp, making Dan threaten to sue like the Kabras would do. Later, of course, Dan regretted saying it, blaming the 'Cobra disease' spreading through the planet.

Amy barely had any energy to admire Ireland, being tired and unguarded, unless you count a 'ninja master' dweeb behind her protection.

Then Dan spotted a lock. "This was too easy," he said, digging into his pockets to grab a needle or pin. He quickly unlocked it, and it opened to be a door. Amy glanced in nervously.

"Are you sure, Dan? This seems too easy," Amy commented.

"The ninja lord is always right," Dan replied.

Amy could see his ego was boosting up. Her eye twitched just thinking about it. _Next he'll think he owns the world and the girls, _she thought, smirking.

"Are you coming, dork-san?" asked Dan.

Amy crawled in after him.

* * *

The first thing Amy saw was red eyes gleaming right back at her. A low growl came from its throat. Amy gulped, backing away.

"Amy...?" Dan said, trailing off as he saw the hungry eyes staring back at him. "Stupid animal."

That made the animal leap at Dan, unsheathing its claws...

* * *

**Dun dun DUN. I leave you with a cliffie till Shattered sends in the next chapter.**

**Review and bye! We both like your support!**

**~Gone**


	4. Queen Jerri

**Disclaimer: We don't own 39 Clues. Okay?**

* * *

_Chapter Written by CrushedShattered_

Before Dan could use some of his awesome ninja skills on the red-eyed, growling, claws-unsheathing animal he was knocked to the ground by it.

He began to fight the animal but then realized that it was actually a gigantic stuffed toy. It was an extraordinary cotton replica of a tiger with electric red lights for eyes.

For a few seconds he just stared at the fake tiger until he spotted the gun that was aiming at the space directly between his eyes.

A man dressed all in black was holding the gun. Amy was being threatened in the same manner by another man who was also dressed all in black.

"Who are you?" The man who was pointing his gun at Dan demanded. He had a strange accent. "And how did you get in here?"

Dan was still in a half-sitting, half-lying position. And the toy tiger, which was quite heavy, was still on top of him. His thoughts were slightly muddled by how suddenly this had happened, and he tried to think of an answer.

"We― we ― we're―" Amy stammered. She was obviously losing it because of the gun being pointed at her.

Dan sighed. His sister almost always got nervous during the most important times.

"We're going to go and complete Honey Jason's quest." He said slowly and clearly, hoping that the two men could understand English better than when speaking it. "I'm Dan, and this is my sister, Amy."

The man who was aiming at Dan seemed to be only half-satisfied by his answer. Then Dan suddenly remembered that there were two questions and he'd only answered the first one. But before he could speak the man spoke again.

"And how did you find this place?" He directed his question at Amy. "Amy, is it? Now tell me how you and your brother found this place and how you got in."

"I― we― we ― we ― the lock had the Lucian crest on it, and it was just instinct―" Amy began, talking fast. "So we ― we ― picked the lock and came in."

Dan groaned inwardly. Amy didn't know why he'd chosen to pick this particular lock. It did indeed have the Lucian crest on one side ―A castle with two snakes entwined on the tallest tower in the middle.

"Oh?" The man asked. "If you know about the Lucian crest I assume you're Cahills. You two definitely aren't Lucians, which branch do you belong to?"

"We're Madrigals." Amy and Dan replied, almost at the same time.

The man looked surprised for a few seconds, then shook his head slightly and cursed Honey Jason for not giving the book to some Cahills who were 'of one of the four _real _branches'.

"If you two are both Madrigals," He continued. "Then you must know that many locks around the world have the Lucian crest carved into them. And I don't suppose that you'd run around picking random locks with the Lucian crest?"

Dan was getting annoyed. Was this man just playing with them? And it was also somewhat insulting to be called a Cahill who was 'not of the four real branches'.

"I saw the carving of the castle with the two snakes." He said, doing his best to keep himself calm. "Honey Jason told us in the book that first we were to go the Castle of Snake."

Both men seemed satisfied by his answer because in unison they both lowered their guns.

The man who'd threatened Amy went to one of the walls of the room and turned on a light. Dan blinked as his eyes adjusted to the bright light and then scanned the room. It was a room with nothing but a table and a machine on the roof which Dan suspected was what had held up the toy tiger before.

Realizing that he was still sitting on the ground he quickly got up.

He could now see the man who'd questioned them clearly. He had blonde hair and seemed to be at least ten years older than the other man, who was quite young.

The blonde man held out his hand to them. "Sorry for scaring you, but we had to make sure. I'm Mr. Jackson and that's Mr. Stoll." He nodded at the younger man, who'd kept silent all this time and who was now checking the lock Dan had picked. "We're both Luicans."

Dan didn't really like the last sentence, mostly because of his experience with some Cahills of that branch. He guessed that Mr. Stoll was Mr. Jackson's assistant or something, because Mr. Jackson was obviously in charge.

They both shook hands with Mr. Jackson and then with Mr. Stoll. Then Mr. Jackson led them through the only other door besides the one they'd just entered, which led to a bigger and brighter room. Mr. Stoll helped them with their luggage.

Mr. Jackson had them sit down at the table and went to close the door. When he returned he looked much more serious as he sat down on a chair opposite Amy and Dan. Mr. Stoll sat next to him.

"It's clear that you two have decided to complete Honey Jason's quest." Mr. Jackson said, his accent had disappeared completely. "I don't mean to scare you intentionally, but this quest is more dangerous and challenging than you can possibly imagine. Are you two sure you want to continue?"

Dan immediately said yes but then noticed that Amy hadn't said anything yet. But after hesitating for a moment she also said yes. But her voice was sort of shaky.

Both men didn't seem to notice it, and Mr. Jackson continued. "We can lead you to the Castle of Snake, which is one of the only few old-fashioned castles underground that's left. There are three underground Lucian Castles in all: The Castle of Snake, the Castle of Python, and the Castle of Cobra―"

"The Castle of Cobra?" Dan exclaimed. "Is it owned by the _Kabras_?"

Mr. Jackson nodded and continued on. "We can take you to it now through a secret passage. And it's the only entrance and exit available for the Castle of Snake. If you've decided to go, then do you have any questions?"

Dan nodded. "Is Honey Jason really dead?" He asked. "A teenager called Zeke Cahill told us part of that and then he was―" He stopped when Amy kicked him under the table.

"Yes, she is." Mr. Jackson replied in a slightly tense voice. "I can't tell you why because if I did I'd end up exactly like Zeke Cahill. And I can't answer any other questions about the quest."

Dan didn't know what to say to that. "So could you lead us to the Castle of Snake now, please?" He asked. "Is it really an underground castle?"  
Mr. Jackson nodded, and warned then again about how hard the quest would be. "This won't be an easy quest, and you two are Madrigals―" The distaste was clear in his voice. "But since Honey Jason chose to give the book to you I can only follow her instructions. Mr. Stoll will take you to the Castle of Snake now."

He went over to the rug on the floor in one corner of the room and rolled it up, revealing a trapdoor. He unlocked the lock with a combination and pulled the trapdoor open. The trapdoor led to a stairway going down.

Mr. Stoll went in first, still carrying their duffel bags. "Good luck." Mr. Jackson said to Amy and Dan after they'd gone down the staircase. "I hope both of you can come back safely and then I will tell you where the Bear Dungeon is."

He gave them a curt nod and closed the trapdoor.

Dan gulped as he peered down the dark staircase. He hoped he could trust these people, but what if it was a trap?

\

It had been only ten minutes since they'd started going down the stairs, but Dan felt like they'd already journeyed to the center of the earth, only it wasn't that hot yet.

The lighting system was designed so that one could turn on lights that illuminated a section of the stairway, and then when arriving at the end of the bright area, one would find another switch which turned off the lights behind them and turned on the lights that illuminated a section of the staircase in front of them. Dan had nothing to do except being careful not to trip so he counted the light switches they passed. Now Mr. Stoll had flipped twenty-six switches.

After another ten minutes they arrived at a door. On the door there was a metal sign with the words _Castle of Snake_ engraved on it in a fancy print. Below the sign was the Lucian crest, also the same picture as the one on the lock: the castle with the two snakes.

For the first time Mr. Stoll spoke to them. "Knock when you're ready." He told them. "Queen Jerri and Princess Lucia are of the second most powerful family of the Lucian branch. Good luck." He handed them their duffel bags and headed back up the staircase.

After Mr. Stoll was out of earshot Amy turned to Dan. She produced Honey Jason's book from her backpack.

"We should read the part about the Castle of Snake again." She said to Dan. "Hmm…"

She opened the book and turned to the first page.

_The Ekats guarded this with their lives, till those stupid scum of Lucians stole the stone. I think it is hidden within the Castle of Snake, who holds a beautiful young woman, Queen Jerri. She will lead you to meet her brat of a daughter, Princess Lucia, who holds the stone as a necklace, a token of honor to fight to keep the Lucians thriving._

"I hope we can get the stone from her." Amy muttered. "Do you want to knock?"

"Sure." Dan said as he knocked. "I've always wanted to tour a castle."

As they waited for the door to open Amy suddenly had doubts about this quest. The sweet and evil voice, the death of Zeke Cahill, the way Mr. Jackson talked about the quest. Someone had already been killed because of their decision to complete this quest.

Even though Amy and Dan had been ready they still jumped as the door leading to the Castle of Snake opened. A woman in her late thirties or early forties was standing in front of them. She was so beautiful in a refined way that even Dan was somewhat impressed.

She was wearing a long blue dress and had a lot of makeup on, and her hair was braided with threads of gold. She looked like she was about to head on to some meeting or party. The smile on her face seemed slightly sad when she saw them.

"I suppose you're Amy and Dan Cahill." She said to the two stunned teenagers. "Mr. Jackson told me to expect you. I'm Mrs. Jerri. Please come in."

Amy and Dan looked at each other, shrugged, and then followed her into the Castle of Snake."


	5. So Call and Help Me!

**Disclaimer: I don't own 39 Clues.**

**Thank you all for reviewing! :D Shattered and me like reviews!**

**I wanted to write 1,900 words, but that didn't work out well...**

* * *

_**Written Chapter by Gone**_

"Honey Jason sent you for my daughter's necklace, I assume?" murmured Queen Jerri, waving them to sit down. Dan stared at Amy, telling her in his eyes not to speak, and let him speak so she didn't stutter or embarrass him.

"Does everyone know that?" he asked. Queen Jerri gave him a ghostly grin, and tapped her fingers on the table. Her cold, electric blue eyes hardened.

"Yes. Honey Jason stole it from us, but a fellow person found it after her death and gave it back to us, its home," said Queen Jerri.

"But it belongs to the Ekats!" exclaimed Dan.

Queen Jerri laughed, her voice sounding like wind chimes. "We couldn't let them take over the world, right?" she said, "so we stole it to so their big heads what Lucians are capable of."

Dan frowned. It was rude of the Queen to insult the geniuses, or known as genii. Instead, he replied, "I guess. Taking over the world would be bad."

Queen Jerri smiled at him. "I'm glad you understand, dear."

Dan glared at the ground to put holes in it. He _hated _the trashy nicknames the elder people gave to him! He's not an animal- or maybe he might be, as Amy says- and he'd rather be a dragon than a deer. So _then _he could actually blow fire on the ground and put holes in it. "Yep," he said, bored. He wanted to see the prison! The thought made him want to run around in circles.

"Slang language these days," muttered Queen Jerri, and sat up off her seat. Then a girl opened the door, stomping in.

"_Mother!_" she yelled, "David put a squid in my bathtub!" She had wavy brown hair, and sparkling amber eyes. Her eyes darted over to the guests, which were him and Amy, and she clasped her stone necklace. She glared harshly at him. "Mother! You're being too kind! First you let peasants in-"

"Excuse me, mini Natalie Cobra, I'm a millionaire, and awesome ninja master," huffed Dan, "and you're a low sour patch kid."

She stared coolly at him, like he was rubbish. That made him more mad. He clenched his teeth and fists. "I'm Princess Lucia," she said evenly, still staring at him. "And I'm a infinity dollar, wealthy-"

"Slut?" completed Dan. Amy stared at him in horror, shaking her head wildly.

"Can your girlfriend not speak?" asked Lucia, twirling her glittery hair and giggling, ignoring his completion.

"Don't talk about my sister like that!" he yelled, stepping forward towards the Princess.

"Your sister?" Lucia replied innocently, "I should have known. The ugliness is strikingly same." Lucia stepped forward, and the two, he and Lucia, were nose to nose, glaring at each other.

"Stop being such a dumb, glittery vampire. You're worse than Natalie Kabra!" shouted Dan, totally knowing he's rather hang out with Natalie any day than this girl. Princess Lucia backed away, but Dan snatched her necklace, tugging it.

Lucia gurgled, and screamed, "Mother!"

Amy stared in horror still. Dan looked around. Queen Jerri left. It was time to leave soon. Dan grabbed the necklace, and he and Amy raced out the door, leaving an unpleasant Lucia crying on the floor. Dan raced past the two guards, tugging Amy's wrist along the way. The guards slammed to the ground, and Amy was now ahead, rounding the corner.

Queen Jerri stared right back at him, her electric eyes boring into his. "Did you think I'd let you get away with what keeps the Lucians thriving with their pride? Honey dear fooled me once, but to fool me twice? By two Madrigals? Never again. Take them to the prison, cell thirty nine!"

Queen Jerri bared her teeth. "You'll get along with the prisoners quite well." She laughed as we tried to wriggle out of the guards' grasp.

"Bye, bye!" she crooned, sticking a needle into his skin.

* * *

"Ugh, where are we?" Dan asked groggily, staring at his sister. She frowned, then her eyes dulled more.

"The Castle of Snake, cell thirty nine," replied Amy.

"Cell?" exclaimed Dan, "ooooh, I remember." He regretted saying he wanted to see the prison now...

"Be happy you got us in prison," Amy said bitterly, gripping the bars so her fingers turned white and red. "Lucia's a jerk."

"I know that. We have the rest of our lives to think of it," he said dryly.

Amy glared at him. "Nellie's going to kill us."

"That's the least of our problems. We have a whole tougher Kabra family against us," replied Dan.

Amy's eyes brightened. "That's it, Dan! Thank goodness!" She dug up her phone. "We'll call the Kabras!"

"Why not the _police?" _he drawled, annoyed at her stupidity.

"Lucians, Dan. How do the police know where the underground castle is? Only the branches know," replied Amy.

"But what if there was a Lucian police dude?" exclaimed Dan.

"_'Oh, police sir, we're stuck underground in a castle that's not on the map, we don't know the address, and we're in a prison! Is there a GPS station around here? Oh, no? You don't know where it is?'" _mimicked Amy.

Dan growled, "You're listening to Ian too much. You're getting his dry, sarcastic sense of humor."

Amy laughed, punching in the Kabras number.

_ . Riiiing._

"Hey, Natalie, Ian. I was wondering if you could help us out a bit...we're in Ireland, in Castle of Snake. Do you know what that is and where exactly?" asked Amy.

"Peasant, please tell me you and your ninja brother are not doing Honey Jason's quest," pleaded Natalie, almost begging it not to be true.

"Yup," said Dan, "the prison service isn't well..."

Amy laughed. "It's prison, Dan."

"You two are in prison?" asked Ian. "Castle of Snake prison?"

"Yeah...we need your help..." trailed off Amy.

"We have to help because of the contract," huffed Natalie, annoyed. "We'll help."

"Thanks!" exclaimed Amy. The stairs creaked.

"No..." Dan said in a tiny voice. A huge, muscular man hovered over them.

The man grabbed them by their throats. "Help!" squeaked Amy into the phone before it dropped.

* * *

"Hello, Kabras," purred Queen Jerri. "I'm offering your cousins a great stay!"

Both of the Kabras amber eyes narrowed at that.

"We know that's not true," said Ian, "do you think we're dumb?"

"Your sister is," seethed Queen Jerri. Natalie shot her with her dart gun, and smiled afterward.

"Brother, lets go save our peasant cousins," Natalie said. Both of them grinned at the thought of shooting guards with shot guns, and getting to be in action again.


	6. Lower That Gun!

**Disclaimer: I don't own 39 Clues.**

_Written Chapter by CrushedShattered_

Amt looked around the prison cell she and Dan were in right now. It was reasonably clean for a cell in a castle underground, but that didn't make her feel any better.

She and Dan had examined every inch of the cell, and no possible way to escape had been found. It was a really simple cell: there wasn't even a bed or table.

"What time is it?" Dan asked her.

"How would I know?" Amy groaned as she shifted her position on the cold, hard floor. After they'd made that phone call to the Kabras Queen Jerri had them searched thoroughly by two of the guards. Now they had nothing with them but their own clothes.

"I hate it here!" Dan complained. "Prisons should at least give the prisoners some food!"

"This is a Lucian-run prison." Amy reminded him. "We really should've tried to reason and negotiate with them to get the stone, not by using force."

"How can you reason with a brat like Lucia?" Dan protested. "My plan could've worked."

"And it would rain cupcakes here in Ireland. Did you think that Jerri would let us walk out of this castle after you insulted and almost strangled her daughter?"

Dan shrugged. "I thought Jerri was nice."

"Never judge a book by its cover." Amy said, sighing.

"How I wish she were a book." Dan said as his stomach growled. "I hope the Kabras come soon. I'm starving."

Amy seemed to be worried. "What if they can't make it and get captured, too?"

"Natalie and Ian will manage." Dan assured her. "But if they succeed in rescuing us we still need to have a way to get the Dragon's Stone. Also our luggage, and…you know…Honey Jason's book."

Just as Dan had expected, Amy gasped and became even more worried. "What if she destroys the book? Then…"

"The book's magic, so it might be indestructible, or at least hard to destroy." Dan said hopefully. He glanced cautiously at the cameras directed at them.

"We can't worry about that now." He said to Amy in a lowered voice, murmuring into her ear. "Now we need to thing of a plan."

\

Nellie Gomez hummed a tune as she entered the mansion. She'd just come back from a day of classes and a cooking club.

"Kiddos?" She called. There was no reply.

Frowning, Nellie went to look in their rooms. Amy had promised her that she'd be home before 4:00 today. And Dan was supposed to be home now, too.

It was already five o'clock, and Amy wasn't one to be late. Unsuccessfully convincing herself that she'd remembered something wrong and that there was nothing to worry about, Nellie went back to the living room.

That was when she saw the letter.

\

Through whispers and mostly eye contact, they agreed on a plan. But the plan would only work if Natalie and Ian came.

Amy stretched as she got up from her sitting position on the floor. Part of her was anticipating for the Kabras to come, and the other half dreaded it. They had to have the book to complete the quest. But maybe they didn't need it… Dan's amazing memory would do. But it was best to have the book at hand.

Dan was looking through the bars to see if he could see anyone when he heard a lot of commotion from above him. Amy had also noticed the noise, and they immediately figured out what was happening.

Both of them felt a rush of mixed emotions at that moment. They were happy, relieved, and excited, but also greatly worried for Natalie and Ian. What if they got hurt? Amy felt a bit sick thinking about their daring plan to receive Honey Jason's book. And Dan wasn't _that_enthusiastic to meet the Kabras again.

"Remember the plan?" Dan asked Amy as they heard a 'hey!' from above that was definitely not Natalie or Ian's.

Amy nodded.

After a few minutes the door leading to the prison cells was opened, and both Amy and Dan gave cries of joy when they heard a voice say:

"This dungeon is pathetic! Ian, why don't you go and get them? I'm not going down there!"

"Natalie!" Dan yelled, at the same time that Amy whispered. "Ian!"

"Over here!" Dan hollered, jumping around the cell. "We're over here, stuck in this stupid cell! Quickly! Come before Jerri and Lucia come and throw you in here, too!"  
Finally Ian came. Dan quickly glanced at Amy and wasn't surprised to see her face turn slightly red at the sight of Ian.

Ian regarded the two of the superstitiously. "How did you end up here? I thought the two of you were brilliant when steeling things."

"We've never stolen necklaces from princesses before." Dan said quickly before Amy could stammer a reply and embarrass both of them. "Now can you get us out of here?"

Ian bent down to open the lock with a key. He opened the door and Amy and Dan quickly got out.

"Th― thank― y― you, I― Ian." Amy stammered as she looked around.

"It was nothing." Ian said coolly. "So you two decided to complete Honey Jason's quest? Do you still want to go on? We can't come and rescue you every time you get into trouble."

"We're just out of practice." Dan said defensively. "And what's about that contract Natalie mentioned on the phone?"

Before Ian could answer Natalie suddenly materialized in front of them.

"Where were the three of you?" She demanded. "Let's get that stone and go! I'm going to be late for my manicure appointment!"

Ian led them through the castle to where Jerri, Lucia, and 6 other guards were tied to chairs, unconscious.

"Don't worry about them." Ian assured Amy after noticing her concerned glances at them. "They'll wake up after ten hours with a _nasty_ headache."

"Here are your duffel bags." Natalie said as she pulled Amy and Dan's luggage out from under a table. "And here are your backpacks, too."

She examined the bags carefully. "You've finally found some sense of style, at least in traveling."

Dan had just finished taking the necklace from the unconscious Lucia. "Thanks, Natalie."

Ian handed them their cell phones, which he'd found in a drawer. "You should better go quickly. We don't want them to wake up and tell the guards at the entrance to stop you."

Amy nodded as she made sure that Honey Jason's book was still safely inside her backpack. "How did you get in here so fast?" She asked Ian, her curiosity overcoming her stutter. "And do you and Natalie know anything else about this quest?"

"Have you ever seen a map, Amy?" Natalie asked. "If you haven't, I would be glad to tell you that England and Ireland are not _that _far apart."

Dan rolled his eyes. "Of course we know the distance between Ireland and London. Now can you answer the second question?"

"No." Ian said simply, and Amy sensed uneasiness in his voice. "You should better go now. Natalie and I would like to explore a bit before we leave."

"I hope the next time we meet will be after you encounter Lassie." Natalie said. "And please, don't ask us about this quest. We're only helping you because of that contract―"

"You two should better go now." Ian said, cutting her off. "The door's this way."  
He walked over to the other side of the room and opened the door.

Amy and Dan checked their possessions again, waved goodbye to the Kabras, and headed up the stairs.

\

"Are we there yet?" Dan panted. "I didn't remember it being so long."

Amy was deep in thought, and didn't seem to hear Dan's question. "Are you sure that you got the real Dragon's Stone?" She asked. "Now thinking of it, Lucia wouldn't wear the real stone on a necklace after you tried to steal it."

Dan stopped suddenly. "You're right! But I have a way to see if it's real or not. Give me the book."

Amy took Honey Jason's book out of her backpack, still mystified about what Dan would do. Then she understood. "Magic…"

Dan nodded as he opened the book to the first page. "You're right, Amy-san. Remember that hole in the page?"

Just as he'd expected, the empty space was still there. The outline of the hole was the same as the one of the stone he was holding in his hand.

"Ready?" Dan asked.

Amy fit the stone carefully in the space. "Hey, Dan, we didn't need to use our plan." She said suddenly, like she'd just realized that.

Nothing happened for a few seconds, and then the stone glowed with a golden light. A sentence appeared next to the stone on the page. It was written in Honey Jason's handwriting; _KEEP THE STONE SAFE._

After another few seconds the glow faded and the sentence disappeared along with it.

Amy cautiously removed the stone from the page. "So we…?" She asked Dan.

Dan shrugged as he closed the book. "You can wear it." He was still confused about this whole quest, but he was determined to complete it. Nothing would stop him and Amy.

"I already have a necklace to wear." Amy said as she touched her jade necklace. "Maybe we should put it back inside the book."

Dan opened the book again and put the stone back into the empty space. The book gave the same reaction as last time. After the light had faded Dan closed the book with the Dragon's Stone still in it.

Soon they reached the trapdoor. There was a button by it that read OPEN.

Before Amy could say something Dan pressed the button and then the door opened.

Before they could get out a gun was suddenly pointed directly at them.


End file.
